Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart, O.M (Third Class) (b. 26 January 1964) was a half-blood wizard and author, who later became Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lockhart was a former pupil of the school, and was placed in Ravenclaw House. Lockhart began a career of fame by taking credit for the heroic acts of other witches and wizards, whose memories he erased in order to claim them. He wrote many books about his apparent "encounters" with dark creatures. Unable to accept he was never the amazing wizard he thought he would be when he attended school, he created the image of one. The charming appearance he created compensated for Lockhart's arrogance, and he became an acclaimed author who was awarded with an Order of Merlin, became Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and the record five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Charming Smile Award. He fooled the wizarding world, but the image began to fall apart when he began teaching and people noticed he had no idea what he was doing. The opening of the Chamber of Secrets proved Lockhart's cowardice and he was later hit with a backfiring Memory Charm intended for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. He then took up residence at St. Mungo's Hospital in the Janus Thickney Ward, and spent the time signing autographs with no idea why. Early Life Gilderoy Lockhart was born on 26 January 1964. He was raised by a witch and Muggle father and had two elder sisters who had no magic. Lockhart's mother was therefore very proud of him and favoured him over her daughters. Thinking he was special, Lockhart became very vain by the time he was accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and expected everyone to be amazed by him, thinking education would be a triumph. Education Beginning education on 1 September 1975, Lockhart found attending Hogwarts very dull and was not greeted with the applaud and amazement he expected from everyone. He narrowly avoided being placed in Slytherin, but he was placed in Ravenclaw. Lockhart's mother and Lockhart had failed to acknowledge that Hogwarts was complete with many witches and wizards of better talent, and that simply because magic was rare and special in Lockhart's family, it would not be at school. Lockhart achieved good marks, but he was ordinary. The teachers thought he had potential, but the ambition he dreamed of needed exceptional magical powers, and Lockhart would need to work very well to achieve such power, since he fell short of it. He felt very let down when he acknowledged that there were children of better talent than him, and no-one was impressed by the naturally, wavy hair he had. He would freely tell anyone who bothered to pay attention that he would succeed in creating the Philosopher's Stone before graduating school, and that he intended to captain England’s Quidditch team to World Cup glory, before knuckling down to becoming Minister for Magic at an earlier age than anyone before him. Lockhart's appreciation for education was never about learning, but for the attention it brought him, which he craved, and for the rewards he could achieve in order to show off. He even begged the Headteacher to let him begin a school newspaper in the dream he could put the name "Gilderoy Lockhart" in print, and the entire school would know him. He would later claim he was Seeker for Ravenclaw, but it's unknown whether he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, the efforts he made brought him nowhere near the attention he was hoping for, and he began to take grander attempts to find it. He never achieved the fame he wanted, and he was unpopular with the other children, but the fact he once carved a twenty-foot long signature in the Quidditch pitch, which earned him many detentions over the next month, put a hologram of himself in the sky and sent eight-hundred Valentines to himself which created madness in the Great Hall, meant he became a talking point from time to time. Career When Lockhart finally graduated, which brought joy to the teachers, he perfected the Memory Charm and began travelling around the world in search of stories in order to become an author. He would trick people into telling him what they achieved, and then erase their memory of ever having done it. He then claimed the story and wrote books about it. The books became very popular, and very few people ever found them to be mainly fiction with very few truths that were taken from other people. People whose memories he erased include a witch with a hairy chin (who defeated the Bandon Banshee), and an Armenian warlock who saved people from werewolves, but whom Lockhart considered ugly. Lockhart's teachers from Hogwarts were very shocked by the achievements, and Lockhart finally had the fame he craved. Unfortunately, Lockhart was a good but lazy wizard when younger, but any talent he had faded over time when he focused far too much on Memory Charms than doing anything of merit. Lockhart's many books included Break with a Banshee, Voyages with Vampires and Wanderings with Werewolves. In the ten years since he left Hogwarts, he became the world's favourite Dark Arts defender, he was awarded with an Order of Merlin and became a member of the Dark Force Defence League. By 1992, Lockhart proved to be that popular, he wrote an autobiography named "Magical Me". In 1992, he held a book signing at Flourish and Blotts. He wrote with a special blue feathered pen, and seized the day when he found Harry Potter in the audience. In order to increase Lockhart’s own fame, he dragged him to the front and claimed even Harry was a fan of him. He took many pictures of the two of them together, and awarded him with every book he ever wrote, announcing he would be the new Defence teacher at Hogwarts from September.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 4 - At Flourish and Blotts Teaching Early days Unfortunately for Lockhart, Albus Dumbledore knew of two wizards whose memories were erased and whose life work were taken by Lockhart. Being one of the few people in the world who knew what Lockhart was up to, he decided he needed to bring the truth to light by proving he was a fraud who had no idea what he was doing. Dumbledore decided to invite Lockhart to teach, and persuaded him by telling him Harry Potter would be one the pupils he would be teaching. Lockhart loved the idea of teaching another wizard of great fame and dreamed of the attention it would bring him. The other teachers were shocked and couldn’t comprehend why he would be offered such a role. Professor McGonagall, who was never fond of Lockhart, even wondered what Dumbledore thought children would learn from such a vain, celebrity-hungry man. Dumbledore told them plenty could be learned from even a bad teacher: "what not to do, how not to be". Lockhart proved to be an incompetent teacher. The second year pupils were told to purchase seven of Lockhart's books to bring to school. He wound up fellow teachers, including Professor Sprout by "teaching" Pomona the right way to doctor the Whomping Willow. He later taught Hagrid how to retrieve Kelpies out of a well, when Hagrid knew very well the right way to do it.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 7 - Mudbloods and Murmurs He then pulled Harry out of class and claimed he was responsible for Harry's driving to school in the flying car. He told Harry that he should never have let them both appear on the front page of the newspapers, because he thinks it made Harry fame-hungry and provided the advice that Harry should not continue searching for fame because he will have plenty of time for it when he's older.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 6 - Gildeory Lockhart When Lockhart later found out Colin Creevey wanted a signed photo of Harry leading other pupils to making a joke about it, Lockhart "saved" Harry by taking the picture with him, telling Harry he shouldn't be signing autographs too early because it makes him look "big-headed". He introduced himself to the second year class by going on about "me", and providing a small exam about himself. The class went very wrong when Lockhart unveiled Cornish Pixies and he proved he was not only incompetent but a coward when he unleashed them. They wrecked the room, the daft spell he tried never worked and they threw Lockhart's wand out the window, which then made him run away to hide under a nearby desk. He then told the children to put them back in the cage and left the room. Hermione Granger then made out Lockhart wanted them to sort it out in order to teach them, but she was the only one. In an effort to keep Harry on good terms with him, Lockhart began searching for ways to spend time with him. He asked for Harry's detention to be signing fan-mail with him, and the entire time droned on about fame for four hours until Harry noticed a voice which Lockhart couldn't. He then noticed the time and finally ended the detention. The Chamber of Secrets Lockhart told people many things about what he could do to deal with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, never thinking he would have to act them out. He gave everyone advice and when proven wrong, he claimed he actually thought of that in the beginning. He originally told everyone Mrs Norris was killed, but then agreed with Dumbledore when he told everyone she was actually Petrified.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 - The Writing on the Wall Then he claimed he could make the antidote to reviving Petrified people, but by then he kept live creatures away from classes. He would spend them reading the books he wrote and acting out scenes from them, even making Harry howl in the part of a werewolf. The homework he set included making a poem about the way he defeated the Wagga Wagga werewolf, and pupils only needed to flatter him to make him do whatever they wanted.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 10 - The Rogue Bludger When Harry was knocked off a broom and ended up with a broken arm due to the rogue Bludger, Lockhart claimed he knew the precise spell to heal the arm. Harry attempted to tell him not to, but Lockhart wound up making Harry's arm boneless. He later created the Duelling Club and invited Professor Snape to teach. He droned on about what a skilled dueller he was, only to be defeated while twirling around and then claimed he let the spell knock him over on purpose. He championed Harry in a duel with Draco Malfoy, but had no idea how to deal with the snake that Harry made appear, launching it into the air rather than remove it.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 10 - The Duelling Club He later sent Hermione Granger a letter when she was unwell, and claimed he should be credited for the Chamber of Secrets problem ending for a short amount of time, since the culprit probably knew he would find them eventually. When Valentine's Day arrived, Lockhart decorated the entire Great Hall in pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti falling from the blue sky. He then gave a speech thanking everyone for the many cards they sent him, before telling everyone he invited dwarves in golden wings to deliver cards and even sing poems to the one everyone wanted to send a Valentine.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 13 - The Very Secret Diary When Rubeus Hagrid was blamed for opening the Chamber of Secrets and taken to Azkaban, Lockhart appeared happier than everyone else and claimed that the true culprit was finally found and that he knew Hagrid was no good.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 15 - Aragog He continued to blame Hagrid even when other people were claiming he was framed, and told everyone he knew it to be true when he was leading children to their next class for safety, complaining about being on patrol every night.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 - The Chamber of Secrets Finding the Chamber The truth about Lockhart being a fraud was finally admitted when Ginny Weasley was kidnapped and taken to the Chamber of Secrets. The other teachers saw the chance to call him out on things he told them he knew about the Chamber, by pretending he now had the chance to save the day. He attempted to take back everything he told them by saying he had no memory of saying it, but the teachers told him they will let him deal with the problem. Lockhart went to the office to prepare, when he was actually packing everything up in order to run away. Harry and Ron Weasley had watched the teachers tell Lockhart they will let him deal with the Chamber of Secrets, and since they had found out where the entrance of the Chamber would be and were planning to rescue Ginny, they decided to approach Lockhart and join him. When they found him packing up, he told them the truth and continued to try and look good by claiming it took talent in order to make people tell him what happened, then erase their memory. Now he finally admitted the truth, he told them he needed to erase their memories, but they sent Lockhart's wand out the window with the Disarming Charm and then made him go to the Chamber of Secrets with them. They opened the entrance and told Lockhart to jump down the pipe before them. He wouldn’t jump, which led to Ron pushing him down, and the other two went after him. When they walked around the Chamber, Lockhart attempted to knock Harry and Ron over and then took Ron's wand. He then told them he would be erasing their memories and then telling everyone they went insane when they found Ginny dead. Unfortunately for Lockhart, the wand was broken and the Memory Charm hit him rather than the target. It made the Chamber shudder and many rocks fell, cutting Ron and Lockhart off from Harry. Harry then defeated the Basilisk and came back with Ginny and Fawkes. They found Lockhart completely befuddled, who then looked at them and wondered who they were.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17 - The Heir of Slytherin He was later taken away for medical attention on Dumbledore's orders, and the news he would not be coming back to teach the next year made both teachers and pupils happy.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 - Dobby's Reward Later Life Lockhart was sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He lived on the Janus Thickney Ward and never made a complete recovery. He had only a few memories and was spared the truth of what he had done being told to the entire wizarding world. Dumbledore decided he had suffered enough for the crimes he committed, by forgetting them too. He was very happy.J.K. Rowling and the Live Chat, Bloomsbury.com, July 30, 2007 In December 1995, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Spell Damage room, and found Lockhart heading towards them. He wondered whether they wanted an autograph, since he could now do joined-up writing. He then looked at Harry and vaguely remembered that they had met once before. Lockhart was shocked to find out he was once a teacher, but even though he had no memory, he was very much the same old Lockhart, obsessed with fame and signing autographs.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25 They wound up spending time with Lockhart when a Healer named Miriam Strout found them, telling Lockhart off for wandering away from the locked ward he lived on, and told them she was happy Lockhart had company since no-one ever comes to spend time with him. She told them Lockhart was "very well known a few years ago" and that since he loves signing autographs, it may be a sign of memories coming back. Lockhart's bed was surrounded by images of himself, and he told them he was often sent fan-mail including many letters from Gladys Gudgeon, he had no idea why but it was probably to do with him being good-looking. He made them put the autographs in envelopes and when he noticed they were no longer paying attention and were talking to Neville Longbottom, he told them that he never learned "joined up writing for nothing, you know". Appearance Lockhart was considered very good-looking, a fact he knew and made him very vain. He had wavy, blonde hair and bright blue eyes.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 3 - The Burrow He had perfect, white gleeming teeth and wore bright clothing, including one forget-me-not piece the same shade of Lockhart's eyes. Character Lockhart was a very arrogant and vain man, obsessed with himself and the image people had of him. An egomaniac who done nothing but lie the majority of the time, he self-promoted himself and claimed he pretty much knew everything, and could defeat anything. He actually had no idea what he was talking about at times, but made an effort to look good and make people amazed by him, loving the attention and adoration it could bring him. He loved to think he was far more important that he actually was, and had no idea what the spells he was saying would actually do. He might have even invented spells which never have the effect he was hoping for, and he would act a fool by twirling around and looking bold. He wound up everyone around him, and the entire school of Hogwarts were very happy when he left. Lockhart was not even very perceptive at interpreting other people's tone of voice and looks, and took them the wrong way. He would only ever accept that people were admiring him or agreeing with him. Deep down, Lockhart was a coward who would hide and run away when he had to actually act on the things he claimed or done wrong. He would fob it off and tell other people to deal with it, but never actually admitted he had no idea what he was doing and would pretend to be confident. Any talent he had faded away over time, and he never wanted to try working for things he knew he had no talent at. Ironically when Lockhart had no memory, he became a nicer and kinder person but continued to be obsessed with fame, good-looks and attention. He enjoyed signing autographs and kept many pictures of himself around the bed, even claiming that people wrote to him because he was good-looking. Lockhart would take every opportunity to promote the books he wrote and anything he claimed to have achieved. Throughout Lockhart's career, he told people many apparent facts about himself. The ideal birthday gift for him would be harmony between non-magic and magic people and Lockhart's ambition was to eliminate evil and market a range of hair-care products. Known books published Notes and References Category:Characters Category:Hogwarts Students Category:Hogwarts Professors